WACO — Art Briles claimed he didn't know his team was playing for a Fiesta Bowl berth until long after his team's game against Texas had started.

Oklahoma's upset at Oklahoma State before Baylor's game opened the chance for the Bears to win their first Big 12 championship and an automatic berth in the BCS bowl game.

“I didn't pay a lot of attention to it,” Briles said. “I heard it announced in the game during the first quarter. That was the first time I heard about it.”

But junior wide receiver Levi Norwood knew the Bears were playing for all the Big 12's corn chips long before then. The Bears scored a 30-10 triumph over Texas that will send them to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz., against UCF.

“I don't think that inspired us,” Norwood said. “People knew before we went on the field. People had checked their phones before we went on the field.”

Bowling Green's upset victory over Northern Illinois on Friday night opened up an at-large spot for a team from an automatic conference.

It means the Big 12 likely will have two BCS teams for the first time since 2008 as Oklahoma appears headed to the Sugar Bowl against Alabama.

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Bowl projections

Tim Griffin predicts what the BCS bowls, plus the Cotton and Alamo Bowls, will look like when they are announced today:

BCS Championship: Auburn vs. Florida State

Sugar: Oklahoma vs. Alabama

Orange: Clemson vs. Ohio State

Rose: Michigan State vs. Stanford

Fiesta: Baylor vs. Central Florida

Cotton: Oklahoma State vs. Missouri

Alamo: Texas vs. Oregon

The UT loss, coupled with Oklahoma State's narrow loss, likely will send the Cowboys to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 3 against either Missouri or South Carolina.

The loss should push the Longhorns to the Valero Alamo Bowl for the second consecutive season, likely against Oregon from the Pac-12.

Bowls typically don't like to have teams in back-to-back seasons. But UT has been responsible for the two fastest sellouts and the two largest attendance games in the local bowl's history.

“If they come, we would be delighted,” Valero Alamo Bowl CEO Derrick Fox said. “They are one of the marquee teams in college football and we would be excited. Now, we'll just have to see what happens.”

The matchup with Oregon would also provide some box-office sizzle, if the Pac-12 does not have two teams in BCS bowls. Stanford nailed down the Pac-12 championship with a 38-14 victory over Arizona State on Saturday night.

The Alamo Bowl's teams will be selected after the BCS pairings are announced Sunday night. Fox is convinced he'll have an attractive game no matter what teams come.

“We have a great destination and two great teams,” Fox said. “They'll have a great time here. It should be a great game.”